


The Sniper in the Wall

by TheFoolsKnightober (TheFoolsKnight)



Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Category: The Eldest Curses Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Blood and Gore, First Meetings, Gang Violence, Gun Violence, M/M, Snipers, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26788957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoolsKnight/pseuds/TheFoolsKnightober
Summary: Whumptober Day 3 - Held at gunpointMagnus inadvertently gets caught in a confrontation between two gangs which soon leads to a dangerous altercation.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947043
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	The Sniper in the Wall

The phone was shaking in Magnus’s hand as he stared at the scene in front of him.

He was hiding behind a fallen table in the club, which was empty save for the gang that had barged in and drove everyone out, except for Magnus’s coworker and close friend, Raphael Santiago. Magnus had escaped their notice, and was discreetly recording the gang now, a deep sense of foreboding curling in the depths of his stomach.

Raphael was on his knees, hands behind his back and face covered in bruises as he glared at the leader of the gang, a blond man who lounged on a luxurious armchair, fingers absentmindedly tapping his chin.

“Raphael Santiago,” he drawled, sharp black eyes taking in his captive. “You’ve been very insubordinate lately.”

“I’ve never been your subordinate,” Raphael spat, and one of the men flanking him hit him in the head with the butt of his gun. 

“Show our leader some respect, you fool!”

“It’s okay, Blackwell.” The leader waved a dismissive hand. “He’s a curious little thing, isn’t he? So young, and yet one of the fiercest of  _ those  _ people.”

He sighed and leaned forward. “Look, you just have to tell us where their lair is. We’ll let you go. You can go straight home to your mother and half a dozen dozen brothers.”

Raphael winced at the mention of his family, but it was a very imperceptible movement.

“Or, as you might as well have guessed by now-“ the leader grinned. “We will kill you. Think twice, Santiago.”

Raphael’s face fell shut. His skin was very pale, his bold black eyes trained on the leader. Magnus’s breath hitched, but he did his best not to make a sound.

“If you’re wondering, yes it was me who killed the several others from your little groupee. There was one, just last week. What was his name again? Something Fell?”

“Ragnor Fell, sir,” one of the cronies replied.

Magnus’s heart twisted painfully in his chest. Ragnor’s funeral had been only a couple of days ago. Everyone had told him that Ragnor died in a road accident. But this…

He took in a slow deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. Now was not the time for mourning.

Raphael remained as stoic as ever. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything.”

The leader raised an eyebrow. “Is that information more important than your  _ life?  _ What could possibly be  _ so precious  _ about your headquarters that you people will let ourselves get killed for it?”

Raphael raised his head. “I can’t tell you where it is - I am bound by a contract. But the contract says nothing about you following me there.”

The leader smiled and leaned forward in his seat. “Is that so? Finally, a useful one. Let’s go right away. We can catch them by surprise.”

Magnus frowned. Why the hell would Raphael do something like that? He wasn’t involved in Raphael and Ragnor’s gang business, but whatever this was, it seemed important. Why would Raphael just give it all up?

Raphael pursed his lips. “Very well then.”

“Great!” The leader stood up, beckoning to the other members to go outside. He turned to the two that remained by his side and added, “Oh, and bring that fool with the phone along, too. He’s got some important evidences, and father will be very annoyed if I get forced in jail again.”

Magnus yelped, and looked around for a quick exit, but it was in vain. Within moments, the two men were upon him, pushing the table aside with a sweep of their hands and grabbing Magnus. He gasped as they hauled him up by the shoulders, and one of them grabbed his phone. Magnus gritted his teeth. This was the last thing he’d expected to happen.

Raphael goggled at him. “What are  _ you  _ doing here?!”

“Oh, you know each other?” The leader butted in before Magnus could even open his mouth, and laughed. “Perfect! Let’s go now - we don’t have any more time to waste.”

“You idiot, you weren’t supposed to be there!” Raphael hissed, his hands tight on the steering wheel as he manoeuvred the car through the neighbourhood, though it was largely composed of warehouses on either side of the road. 

“I was worried about you!” Magnus protested. “I had no idea this gang was so serious! You lied to be about how Ragnor died!”

“It was for your own good,” Raphael said. 

Magnus wanted to ask more - about the gang, about Ragnor, about the lies, and maybe he would’ve asked if it weren’t for the two men in the backseat, holding their pistols to the back of Magnus and Raphael’s heads. Magnus could feel the cold metal pressing into his scalp, and tried to ignore it, but it wasn’t easy to ignore a gun that was one pull of the trigger away from blowing Magnus’s brains out.

Behind this car were two other cars, and the leader, whose name he now knew to be Sebastian Morgenstern, was in one of them. The cars cruised along idly, and the road was empty but for one car that was heading towards them. Magnus watched the car as it passed by them and tried to pretend as if he was simply driving around with his friend and not a hostage of a notorious gang.

It all happened very quickly. One moment, the road was peaceful and silent, and the next, there was a loud smash followed by a scream. Magnus felt the gun move away from his head and turned around.

In the window behind Raphael was a perfectly circular hole in the middle of a spiderweb of cracks. Beside it, one of the men was slumped over, his hand limp over Raphael’s shoulder. The other man was distraught, shaking the limp body until he realised that the man was dead, and then turned a deathly glare on Magnus.

Magnus’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to warn Raphael, but the man caught hold of him and struck him across the face with his gun.

Magnus’s head whipped to the side under that force, and he swore he could see stars in front of his eyes for a brief second.

“Stop the car!” the man yelled at Raphael. “Stop it or I’ll shoot him! I’ll  _ shoot _ him!”

Another blow followed, so sudden and painful that it had Magnus crying out in pain. Raphael cursed under his breath and hit the brakes. The car swerved sideways as it came to a stop, but Raphael wasted no time. He grabbed the gun from the limp arm over his shoulder and shot the man in the head. He slumped into his seat, dead, and Magnus couldn’t help but stare at his corpse.

Outside, it was chaos. Magnus could hear several gunshots and yells, and briefly caught a glance of silhouetted people running and ducking behind cars, shooting at each other, before the car door opened and Raphael yanked him out. He pressed a pistol into Magnus’s hand.

“I have to help them,” he said, cocking a gun of his own, and pointed to one of the warehouses. “There’s a sniper on the highest level of that building. Run to him, and  _ stay _ there. If anyone tries to stop you, don’t be afraid to shoot them.”

Magnus nodded, and was about to say something - he had no idea what - but Raphael simply shoved him in the direction of the warehouse.

“Go!” he yelled, and turned to join the fight. Magnus watched him leave, and then quickly turned and ran to the warehouse, his heart thudding hard in his chest. As much as he hated to admit it, he was of no use here. He would only put himself and by extension, Raphael, in danger.

The doors to the warehouse were open. Magnus ran in, and immediately heard a gunshot from somewhere above. Realising it was the sniper, he ran up the stairs, which twisted and turned around the wooden levels, following the gunshots to the top.

He was almost there when he heard more gunshots from directly behind him. Magnus’s eyes widened, and when he felt the bullets painfully lodge into his back, he screamed.

The pain was all over his body, turning his limbs numb, and he collapsed to the ground. Over the sound of his heartbeat, he could vaguely hear footsteps, and then even more gunshots.

Magnus clenched his teeth. Agony filled his veins, turning his mind numb rendering his vision blurry. There were more footsteps, and then someone’s arms were on him, lifting him up.

Magnus groaned as he was lifted off the ground. He could make out the shape of a person, carrying him off to somewhere, and tried to get free from his grasp.

“Don’t move,” the man said. “It will only make the wounds worse.”

“Who..?” Magnus rasped out. He could feel blood trickling down his back, thick droplets dropping off his skin and onto the ground.

“All you have to know is that I’m on Raphael’s side,” he said, setting him down carefully. They were beside a window, and moonlight spilled into the space, highlighting the man’s dark hair. “And that you’re safe here.”

The man shoved a pistol into his belt, and picked up a second gun that was leaning against the wall. As he loaded the gun and fired a shot downwards, towards the fight, Magnus realised that it was the sniper.

“You…”

The sniper looked at him, and moonlight sparked off his eyes - they were blue, the only colour in Magnus’s now rapidly blurring vision. He felt like he was on fire, and for a brief moment, a horrible thought crossed his mind - that he was going to die.

“Call me Alec,” the sniper said, and then everything went dark.


End file.
